Tony Martin is giving away what he describes as “the biggest trophy” of his career in order to raise money for children affected by the war in Ukraine.
The German, who retired at the end of last season, is auctioning the silver medal he won in the time trial at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The medal will go to the highest bidder and the money raised will go to the RTL ‘We help children’ campaign and its relief efforts in Ukraine.
“Every day I see the terrible pictures from Ukraine on TV and it feels so wrong to sit on the couch and accept this situation,” Martin wrote on Instagram.
“I pay my deepest respect to everybody who helps the people that need to be protected the most: the Ukrainian kids and their families. I also want to do my small part and help. That's why I decided to donate my Olympic silver medal from London 2012 to raise money for RTL - Wir helfen Kindern [we help children].
"It's not easy to separate me from the biggest trophy I could win in my career but considering the fact that millions of people lost almost everything, it is something I really want to do."
The auction is being hosted on the United Charity website and runs until April 9. At the time of writing on Sunday lunchtime, the top bid stands at €6,400. Martin, a four-time time trial world champion, won the Olympic silver medal at the 2012 Games in London, where Bradley Wiggins claimed the gold.
The medal is described as being "in very good condition", with only the original box it came in showing 'age-related' signs of wear.
"I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people of Ukraine will get back their peace and freedom very soon," Martin said.
Martin is not the only cyclist to do their bit to help the situation in Ukraine under Russia's invasion. Lachlan Morton rode 1000km in 42 hours from Germany to the Poland-Ukraine border in order to raise awareness for how close the war was to western Europe, and ended up raising more than $200,000 in the process.
Former pro Yaroslav Popovych has been even more directly involved, helping to transport supplies to the Ukrainian border.
In recent weeks various race winners, including Wout van Aert and Fabio Jakobsen, have helped draw attention to the horrors of the war and the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding.
